Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing apparatus mounted to an image forming apparatus adopting an electrophotographic system, such as a copier and a printer.
Description of the Related Art
Examples of fixing apparatuses of image forming apparatuses, such as a printer and a copier, include a fixing apparatus that realizes high-speed start-up and energy saving by feeding power to a film including a heat generation layer, and to a rotating member, such as a roller, and by performing Joule heating.
In addition, a system that enables a further reduction in start-up time by suppressing thermal conduction to members other than an exothermic body when starting up a fixing apparatus is proposed. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2013-29728, by varying a degree of pressurization exerted on a fixing film and a pressure roller, power is fed to the fixing film in a state in which the fixing film and the pressure roller are separated from each other or a state in which a contact area between the fixing film and the pressure roller has decreased, whereby a ramp rate of an exothermic body is increased.